Dune's War
DISCLAIMER: Hello everyone. This is a fanfiction written by Beatles Neko. This is simply a story that I wrote about how Dune's life may have gone. He is not mentioned a lot in the series, so there wasn't a lot I could build off of for this story, but I really wanted to write it. ^^ Some lines of text are paraphrased from the actual book, as some scenes take place during that time. Just a little warning, dragons like Dune, Scarlet, Blaze, Blister, Burn, etc. are Tui's characters. Not mine. Any of the dragon with names like: Sandstorm, Barrel, etc. are simply characters that were created for the story. Any names, relationships, etc. with others' stories is completely coincidental. Also, if you spot any grammar errors, go ahead and fix them. Wings of Fire belongs to Tui T. Sutherland. ---- Prologue Dune stared at the rippling surface of a clear pool of water. It was fairly quiet- Webs was organizing scrolls in the guardians' cave, and Kestrel was off practicing battle moves. Dune was on his own at the moment. Voices hissed outside. Dune tapped his barbed tail against the ground. A wisp of smoke entered the cave. Perhaps Kestrel was lecturing the dragonets. Yet, there was a nagging suspicion in Dune that it wasn't Kestrel. Lectures from Kestrel often involved yelling. Dune shifted his ears toward the outside tunnels, and zoomed in on the conversation as best he could. Dune was able to catch part of the conversation: "I'll give you a hint...SeaWing...cutely trying to protect?...This wouldn't have anything to do with a certain prophecy, would it?" Dune heaved himself up. That didn't sound like Kestrel. He decided to investigate. Worry wormed inside his stomach. He tried to push it away, as he limped to the exit. Perhaps the dragonets were simply acting something out. "What is going on out here?" Dune asked as he limped into view of what was occurring. SkyWings. SkyWings had flooded the cave. Chills ran up and down Dune's spine. He scanned the dragons, observing each and every one of them. His eyes rested on an orange, jewel-adorned SkyWing. Fear radiated off him in waves. Queen Scarlet. "Webs!" Dune yelled. Hopefully the SeaWing could help back him up. He then inhaled, and moved as fast as he could across the cave. Dune had to get the malicious SkyWing queen away from the dragonets of destiny. "Stop! They'll hurt you!" Sunny's voice pierced Dune's ears. No, I have to protect all of you. As best Dune could, he seized the SkyWing queen and threw her away from the petrified Starflight. "Don't touch them!" Dune roared. "You'll never get your claws on them." Scarlet gracefully twisted while in the air and landed like a cat. "They're mine now," she hissed menacingly. Dune braced himself as the SkyWing launched herself at him. The sound of feet running from the tunnel entrance announced Webs' arrival. It almost seemed too late. The SkyWing soldiers had launched themselves at their queen, watching her every movement. Webs seems to move at awesome speeds, and intervened the soldiers' attack. He was able to hold some of them off. For now. Clay said something to the other dragonets, but Dune had his mind concentrated on the oncoming attack. Dune gasped slightly from Scarlet's impact on him. "These dragonets are scared," Dune roared as Scarlet smashed him into a stalagmite. Dune writhed a small amount under her. He'd lost his soldier edge since the battle that had horribly maimed him. He still found the strength to find his feet, though. "They're the dragonets of destiny, you can't have them." Scarlet narrowed her eyes, and hissed, "But what if it's my destiny to play with them?" Quick as a rattlesnake, Scarlet lashed out her claws and slashed Dune's stump. He roared in pain. Blood poured from the gashes. "Oh wait, that's right. I don't care about destiny. I don't care about prophecies or any of that NightWing silliness," Scarlet growled. Dune winced. Did most every queen not care? Scarlet slashed her talons across Dune's mended scars. He hissed in pain. "Besides, they made me awfully mad and then ran away. That happens to me far too often, but you know what? I always find the ones who betray me in the end. Even if I have to wait seven years." Scarlet grabbed Dune's neck and pinned him to a wall. Dune cringed. "Right, Kestrel?" Dune blinked and tried to shift to see the burn-scarred SkyWing. Kestrel flashed at the edges of Scarlet's figure. "Poor, poor Scarlet," she growled. "Everyone betrays you." Dune closed his eyes, and thought of Burn. "Well, you've got me now. Let these worthless others go." Dune opened his eyes angrily. He had served under some SandWings, some dragon or another, and she called him worthless? Scarlet narrowed her eyes. "Kestrel, that sounded like an order. Have you switched from disobeying orders to giving them now?" "I won't fight," said Kestrel, her voice hard. "I'll come with you. Just leave them. These dragonets have nothing to do with the SkyWings." Dune relaxed a small amount. He was referring to the dragonets earlier. Smart move, Kestrel. "You will come with me," said Scarlet. "Funny that you thought you had a choice about that. We've got a thrilling trial planned, followed by an even more thrilling execution. But as for these little dragons..." Scarlet's gaze flickered over to Clay, Sunny, Glory, Tsunami, and Starflight. "You really can't expect me to give up prizes like this." Kestrel snorted. "They're no prizes, they're useless, every one of them." Dune saw some of the dragonets looked pained from her comment. "Plus I'm weird-looking," Sunny added onto Kestrel's comment. Scarlet just surveyed the area as smoke curled from her snout. "Oh, they're just the blood my arena needs. It would be terribly sad to let them go. I would be too, too devastated." Scarlet scanned the area one more time before making an announcement: "Take them all." Her gaze flicked back to Dune. She was beginning to crush him in her grip. Scarlet shook him, but Dune couldn't summon the energy to react much. Dune attempted to claw at her, without much success. "I mean, what use is a dragon who can't fly? I'm surprised you haven't killed yourself already, SandWing." Because I had friends to rally around me. Dune thought with a pang. "But I can take care of that for you." The split second Scarlet said that, Dune felt like an IceWing had froze him. His death was literally staring at him. You're right, Toxicant. The final battle is death. Dune hardly heard Sunny scream something, before a dull crack echoed in his ears and abrupt blackness overtook his vision. Part 1—Dunes Rise Chapter 1 - Charge of the Sands "Charge!" Small claws pounded against the sand-dispersed tile ground. Three little SandWing dragonets were charging toward a mound of blankets. The first SandWing, a tan dragon with black horns and talons, was pounding far ahead, the earliest muscles she had developed rippling under her scales. Another SandWing trailed behind her. He was a pale sandy colour, with white horns and talons. One talon out of his many was black. The last SandWing was the smallest, trailing after the other two. He was a darker dusty colour, and was having trouble keeping up with his hatch mates. The tan dragonet leaped up and snagged her claws on a black blanket. She pulled herself up toward the top. The pale dragonet clawed his way up as well. The dusty SandWing dragonet had a little more trouble. Dune inhaled a breath as he clawed his way to the top. Arid stood in front of him, staring out across the room. He pulled himself up and onto the mound of blankets. Behind him, Cacti, the youngest of the hatchlings, had just pulled up. To his right, their mother, Barrel, was watching them with a semi-amused look on her face. Arid billowed out her wings. "We are the best SandWings in history!" she cried. The door across the way from the blanket mound shifted before being opened. A pale dusty dragon entered through. "Sandstorm!" Cacti cried. "Attack!" Arid screeched. She leaped down, and pounded toward her father, muscles rippling. Cacti followed. Dune skirted the edge of the pile, before backing up to the wall the blankets leaned against. Taking a deep breath, Dune surged forward. He ran until the edge of the blanket dropped away. Dune then flared out his wings, as he had seen Sandstorm demonstrate before. His stomach lurched as he caught the air. He glided for a few seconds before hitting the ground. Dune stood and charged to his father. The other two were already pretending- or attempting, to make quick work of him. Sandstorm stumbled dramatically, and flopped to the floor when Dune leaped and flapped his small wings desperately, before slamming into him as heavily as a not-yet-one-year-old-dragonet could. Sandstorm pretended to give a heavy breath. Arid adjusted herself to look Sandstorm in the eye. "Do you admit that the SandWings are the best tribe in all of Pyrrhia?" said Arid. Sandstorm dramatically sighed. "Yes, the SandWings are the best; better than any tribe ever." Arid gave a chirp of victory, and the dragonets all hopped off the soldier. Sandstorm heaved himself to his feet. Barrel snorted, and rested her snout on her talons. "I brought a treat for you all!" Sandstorm said, grinning. He pulled out three desert mice. Barrel made a squawking noise before sitting up. "They're too young to chew meat and muscle!" Sandstorm snorted, before dropping the three mice on the ground. Arid darted forward, and he held her back with his wing. Sandstorm bent his head and ripped most everything off from the three mice until what was left of the prey was mostly bones and organs. Sandstorm chewed his mouth in an odd motion, before spitting out a chunk of chewed meat. "Eat up!" Arid and Cacti got to the pile first, and dug in. Dune trailed after them, staring at the odd pile for a few seconds, but soon worked up the courage to take a bite. He was glad he did. The flavours danced on his tongue, and he chirped with happiness, before eating more. Arid pushed him back a bit, as there was only one piece left. Cacti tried to grab it, but Arid batted him away. Quick as a snake, Dune darted between the two dragonets and snatched the meat for himself, quickly consuming it. Arid growled, and launched herself at her new enemy. Dune screeched, and turned, but was still overtaken by Arid. Cacti snickered. Sandstorm intervened, and plucked the furious Arid off Dune. Barrel shook herself, before giving a stern look to her dragonets. "Okay, you three need sleep. Your father is a busy dragon. He needs to do business with Queen Oasis." Sandstorm gave a dejected look. "I don't really need to leave. Queen Oasis doesn't need me at the moment. I can spend some time here." "That is nonsense talk. Queen Oasis always has something for you. Go and see," Barrel growled dismissively, flicking her tail as a sign that Sandstorm should leave. Sandstorm nuzzled his dragonets before heading to the exit. "I'll see you all later." Dune watched as his father exited the room. Barrel got off her bed assortment, and collected the three young SandWings together, shoving them towards their nest-bed. "You three all fall asleep. I don't want to hear a peep from you. A single peep." Barrel growled. Dune curled up and tucked his snout under his tail, tired from the day's activities. Perhaps Sandstorm would come back tomorrow. Although, Barrel had gotten her point across that he was busy. How high up in Queen Oasis' ranks was his father? Dune would have pondered upon this a little more, but he fell asleep. Chapter 2 - Water Fight Dune blinked his eyes open to the sound of a rushing noise. He lifted his head curiously. Arid and Cacti were still asleep. Dune stood and creeped toward the noise. Barrel was standing in front of something, moving her talons and making the noise. Dune tried to peek at what was occurring. Barrel looked over her shoulder. "Need something, Dune?" she questioned. "What are you doing? And with what?" Dune inquired. "I'm drinking water, and moving my talons through it. Nice a chilly." Barrel explained, before returning her attention back to the water. "What does water look like? Taste like? Feel like?" Dune was full of questions about the liquid. "Here's a sample." Barrel dunked her foot in the water, and turned, flicking all the water straight at Dune. He gasped at how chilly it was. Dune stumbled back, before shaking himself. Arid screeched, and woke up. Cacti suddenly sat upright. Dune had sprayed both dragonets. Barrel laughed, before grabbing a blanket and drying them all off. A knock sounded at the door. Sandstorm peeked his head inside. Arid shot forward, and was at the SandWing's feet in seconds. "Did you bring us mice?" "No; Barrel told me you ate." "No we didn't!" "Are you hungry?" "...no." "See? It would be a waste of food." Sandstorm's gaze flickered back up to the other two dragonets. Dune trotted over. "Sandstorm! Watch me!" Arid spun and lunged at Dune. He yelped, and darted out of the way just in time. Arid got a face full of sand. Sandstorm chuckled. "Not everything is about strength, Arid. Speed is vital in battle, as well." Arid pouted as she got up. "But I'm the oldest and the strongest!" Barrel nudged her. "Your sentence proves no point." Sandstorm nodded in agreement. "You would make a horrible politician." "You would make a horridablel pooltichen." Arid retorted. Sandstorm tried not to laugh. Cacti walked over. "When are we going to leave this room?" Sandstorm looked down. "When you all are two years old." Arid groaned loudly. "Why that long?!" "Your mother wanted you all to leave at three years old. I wanted you to see the world at one. We met halfway." Sandstorm explained. Dune's snout twitched. "Is there anything we can do right now?" Sandstorm shrugged. "I'm not sure. Tomorrow, though, you all are going to be one year of age. You'll be able to eat meat raw. I'll bring you desert mice." Arid leaped so high it seemed like she might touch the ceiling. "Yessss!" She then curved back, landing on top of Cacti. He squawked in surprise, attempting to heave the heavier dragonet off him. Dune watched as Arid slid off Cacti, and Barrel watched the on goings with an unamused expression. Sandstorm gave her a sharp look, before dangling his talons over the dragonets. "Let's see who can reach my talons!" he chirped happily. "Or, we can see who gets to the door first. Whoever gets their first gets to leave," Barrel sighed. "Oh look, Sandstorm wins. Good-bye." Sandstorm growled, his barbed tail twitching. "You can't make me leave while I'm with my dragonets." "Don't you have some meeting with Queen Oasis or anything?" Barrel sighed. "There is a meeting, but it is not mandatory, as it is not in my subdivision." Sandstorm hissed. Barrel sighed. "Okay, you've avoided everything else. Leave. Now." Sandstorm hissed loudly; smoke was beginning to trail out of his nose. "Fine, I'll leave, but just for the sake of our dragonets, so they don't have to see blood be spilled." Sandstorm turned and marched out of the room, and Dune looked over at his mother. She had her back turned to the dragonets, and was muttering to herself. Dune felt alone and abandoned. Sandstorm loved his dragonets, but Barrel mainly ignored them. Chapter 3 - Flight of the Dragonets Dune's eyes flew open. Today was the day! Today was the day he and his siblings would finally see the world beyond the small glimpses of hallways inside the palace-area! Dune sat up, stretching. Arid and Cacti were already up, bouncing around happily. Barrel was regarding them with murderous glances. Sandstorm hadn't arrived yet, so Dune naturally assumed that they hadn't gone yet. Barrel dropped some meat down to them. "Eat a hardy breakfast," she growled. "I don't want someone to drop down to the ground from hunger. There are other things your father could be doing." A din erupted from the outside. Sandstorm ripped the door down, but changed his scowling face to a smile. "My dragonets!" He pulled the dragonets closer with his wings. He flicked his barbed tail. "Let's go." ---- Dune squinted into the harsh sunlight. The thrill of finally being able to fly was almost too much. Sandstorm walked over. "Ready?" he inquired. Dune nodded enthusiastically. Barrel sighed, before flying up to a high ledge. Sandstorm gave Arid, Dune, and Cacti a lift up. Sandstorm set down the dragonets next to their cold mother, who was currently ignoring the events. "Now, who wants to go first?" he asked. Arid streaked forward, and launched herself of the ledge. Dune's eyes widened, and then watched as Cacti followed. Barrel's eyes suddenly snapped to attention, and she screech, before flying after her dragonets. Dune felt frozen to the ledge. He watched as Barrel grabbed Arid and dropped her to the ground, and lunged after Cacti, who screeched in alarm and did his best to avoid his raging mother. Sandstorm roared, and screamed after Barrel, knocking Dune over the edge in the process. Dune flared open his wings, the scenes of his father flying replaying in his head over and over. Dune flared out his wings, and caught the small breeze. He beat his wings hard, pleased that he began to gain altitude. After the small check-over, he flew after his mother and father. Arid had gotten back into the air and was descending to where Sandstorm was reaching out his talons to Barrel. A gust of wind blasted Dune into the sand near the incident, and his stomach flipped at the scene. Cacti was trapped under Barrel's claws, and she was about to bite the 2-year-old dragonet. Sandstorm snatched the murderous dragoness, and flung her away from the dragonet. A guard flew over. "What's happening?" "Get more guards and Queen Oasis," Sandstorm growled, as his mate got back up and threw herself at him. Dune watched as the guard was gone instantly. After a few minutes, more guards showed up, and surrounded the situation. Sandstorm threw Barrel off him, and stared at her in a defensive stance. "Everyone part. Excuse me, please." Dune watched as all the dragons around him bowed in a low stance. All except a jewel-adorned dragon strutting down a pathway and Barrel. Nervous, Dune mimicked the other dragons. "You may all rise." Dune stood and wormed his way to the front by Arid. She was breathing heavily. "Well, well, Barrel. It seems as though you've done it again. And this time, it's hurting your own dragonet. My, my. Someone get that dragonet medical attention," the jewel-adorned dragon said bitingly, her gaze fixed on Barrel the whole time. Dune recognized her by her descriptions. Queen Oasis. "Now, how many times is this going to be, Barrel? What, seven? This is going to be the seventh time in the dungeon? My, I really should get kill you," Queen Oasis growled. Dune grew cold, and felt Arid stiffen beside him. Barrel's been in the prison six times? Sandstorm snarled at his mate. "I thought I trusted you." Barrel looked at him blankly. "I guess we both have our secrets." Sandstorm turned. "We can no longer be partners." "Fine with me; but what about the dragonets?" "I will take good care of them." Queen Oasis flicked her tail, and guards intervened, taking Dune's mother away. He scrambled over to Sandstorm. "Why did you love her if you knew she's been in the prison before?" "It was a stupid decision," Sandstorm replied, before standing. "Go back to the room. There'll be a sitter coming over to help take care of you soon." Dune watched somberly as the SandWings began to disband, and his father took flight, following Queen Oasis into the palace. Arid nudged him, and the two left, entering the nursery section once more. This time, alone. Chapter 4 - Royal Meeting Dune dragged a talon through the sand. A SandWing dragoness, who's name was Beavertail, was busily reading a scroll. She was a personal friend of Sandstorm's, and was filling in Barrel's position every now and then. Cacti had returned, only with a scar down his side, which he boasted about ever since, and the dragonets were almost three years old. That was exciting. Currently, Dune listened to the soft snoring of Arid and Cacti. He couldn't fall asleep, though. The room seemed more hot and stuffy than ever. Perhaps it was because Beavertail sprayed an odd sweet-smelling chemical on herself. Her logic was out of Dune's range. The door cracked open a bit, and Dune lifted his head. Sandstorm had peeked inside, and smiled brightly at his dragonet. He motioned his talons for Dune to come over. Cautiously, Dune arose and slid out of the nest-bed, and padded over to his father. Sandstorm said, "How would you like to see the hatchery?" Dune nodded vigorously, making Sandstorm chuckle at his behavior. The SandWing reached forward and closed the door, before turning and flicking his tail; a sign that Dune should follow. Dune was able to keep up with Sandstorm more easily. I'm growing! Dune thought triumphantly. Sandstorm weaved through a few halls, before the ceiling opened above. Dune gasped. The room was carved out of sandstone, and arched upwards in an inverted dome. It had a hole in the very top, but was covered with a sort of material that was unrecognizable to Dune. As he walked in, Dune noticed the ground underfoot was warm. Looking down, he saw the ground glowed a faint red, and various other places did similarly. Sandstorm pointed his barbed tail up toward the ceiling at the material. "That is a material that you can walk on, but is thin and intensifies the Sun's rays to keep the hatchery warm." "Isn't the Sun hot enough?" Dune asked. "Well, hot air rises, and there is a gaping gap here, allowing cool air to come in. Cooler air sinks, and pushes the warm air upwards. We need to heated air to reach these," he pointed to the things that glowed red, "so that they radiate the heat and keep the area warm." "Where did I hatch?" Dune inquired. "You finished hatching inside our room, but you started hatching room here." Sandstorm pointed to a nest labeled "7". Dune nodded. "Also, our room is Room 7," Sandstorm pointed out. Where your eggs lay is the room you are brought to. Now, let's go back." Dune sighed, but followed his father. He shuffled behind his father, when he walked straight into his tail. Sandstorm was bowing down. Dune scampered around, when he saw Queen Oasis. Dune blinked, and then mimed his father as best he could. "No need for that, Sandstorm," Queen Oasis said, chuckling, motioning with her tail that the two should stand. Dune did as instructed. Sandstorm stretched, and looked at his queen. She smiled at him. "Who's the little dragonet with you?" she asked, bending down. "I'm Dune!" Queen Oasis chuckled. Sandstorm smiled, then said, "What are you doing down here without any escorts, Queen Oasis?" Queen Oasis looked up. "I was just going to check on my eggs. You know, I don't need escorts all the time." She looked back down at Dune. "Would you like to see my eggs with me?" she asked. Sandstorm let out a small gasp. "Are you sure?" Queen Oasis nodded. "This is a special privilege. Dune, do you want to go?" Sandstorm asked. Dune nodded excitedly. "Okay, you have to behave yourself, then." Queen Oasis flicked her tail, and they followed to a small door. The queen had to crouch to slip under, and after doing so, allowed the other two to enter. Dune was able to hop through easily. They walked down the long hallway into a room similar to the regular hatchery. There were a few differences, though. First of all, there was some jewelry, and there were beautiful engravings. Dune marveled at it all. "These are my eggs," Queen Oasis said, motioning to seven eggs. A couple had diamond patterns on them, and were paler than the others. Another couple others were more of a caramel colour, and the last to were a brown-dusty colour. Dune felt the thrill of seeing the SandWing Queen's first clutch of eggs. It was amazing. I feel so...privileged. Sandstorm bowed to Queen Oasis one more time, before exiting the room with Dune tagging behind him. Chapter 5 - Royal Companions (One year later) Dune meandered down the hallways of the nursery area. He talons tingle. In another year, he'd finally be able to start training as a soldier. Currently, he was three years old. He could start training at four, due to the fact that he had higher status like his father. "Hey! Who are you?" a voice squeaked. Dune looked down. A small dragonet, about one-year old, was standing in front of him. She was the same pale brown-dusty colour of one of the eggs in Queen Oasis's hatchery. "I'm Dune, who are you?" The dragonet puffed her chest out. "I'm Burn! The best SandWing princess there is!" Dune's heartbeat slowed. He was speaking to one of the SandWing princesses. One slip up and the little dragonet could report him to her mother. Who knows what Queen Oasis would do to him? "Best princess? Nope!" A little dragonet bounded in. She was the pale caramel colour from before, followed by another pale dragoness dragonet with diamond patterns going down her back. Burn turned and glared at them. "I'd like to see you try to beat me in a fight, Blaze!" The little dragonet paced back a bit, almost bumping into the princess behind her. "Uh, no thanks. That's a little mean, anyway. Right Blister?" She turned to the dragonet behind her. The diamond-backed dragonet gave a small smile. Dune shivered. She must be Blister. Her eyes were a cold black that seemed to pinpoint your every weakness. He turned to Blaze. She seemed the type to rely on other dragons for help, and couldn't hold her own in a battle. Dune looked down at Burn. She seemed to have good qualities. She seemed to know which fights she could win, and what she couldn't. Burn turned back to Dune. "So, what are you doing here?" "I'm just taking a little walk," Dune explained. "How old are you?" "Three." "We're one!" Burn chirped. Dune gave a small smile. Even the aggressiveness he had seen earlier couldn't stop her from looking cute like that. Nothing could. Blaze trotted forward. "C'mon, let's keep exploring!" Blister just walked ahead confidently, leaving her two hatchmates behind. Burn sighed. "Fine; see you later, Dune!" She then charged after her sister, but stopped when she was in front. Dune watched. Burn was definitely going to be the Arid of the sister princesses. Hopefully when the time came, if she became queen, she would treat others like Arid as well, knowing which battles she could win and which she could not. Hopefully, she'd have the smarts to know how to manage everything. Dune smiled, before turning, and continuing his trek down the halls. Chapter 6 - Toxicant (One year later) Dune waited with Arid and Cacti impatiently. All three dragonets were ready to begin their training as soldiers. Through the time of growing up, Arid had become the strongest and most aggressive of the three, but was also able to judge what fights were worth battling. Cacti had grown cautious, but ready to fight for the SandWings or his family; he'd also grown considerably as well. Dune had seen more of the world than his siblings, and used that against them more frequently. When questioned, he liked to state it as a sibling rivalry. When the door opened and Sandstorm walked in, the three dragonets practically tried to shove past him to get outside. Sandstorm chuckled at their enthusiasm, gave his regards to their caretaker, and left with Arid, Cacti, and Dune. As the doors shot by when Dune past, he tried to memorize the layout of the area. It seemed almost impossible. It'll stick eventually. Sandstorm led the dragonets to a room filled with dragons sparring, training, learning, and yelling. On the far wall, an assortment of weapon and tools rested on shelves or against it. On the right, dragons were sparring on either large or small pads. On the left dragons were discussing things, while others were teaching dragonets older than Arid. Near the door, a SandWing was lecturing a group of dragons about behaving. Dune gawked at the room so full of excitement. SandWings were constantly in action. He scanned over the whole room, trying to gauge where he'd fit in the best. Dragons sparring on the smaller pads plausibly needed to have more strength than speed, and the dragons on the larger pads needed more stamina or speed. "Follow me," Sandstorm said, flagging the dragonets after him. Dune followed his father, maneuvering around the bustle of SandWings. Sandstorm led them to a SandWing waited with older dragonets—about 6 years old—in front of a chalkboard labeled "Beginners." Dune's father nodded to the instructor, who walked over. "Are these your dragonets, Sandstorm? The class is eager to meet them," the instructor said, smiling. "I hope you mean eager in a good way, and yes, they are my dragonets." Sandstorm's gaze travelled over to the dragonets, who eyed Dune and his siblings. "Ahh, good. Welcome to the class then. Just sit over there." The instructor motioned toward the group of dragonets. Dune trotted over and sat down next to a SandWing who didn't look much older than him. The SandWing was a pale sandy colour, with splatters of sandy brown from his snout down to his tail. His eyes held a small hue of purple. Dune glanced down at his talons, then back up. The SandWing was watching him. "Hi." The SandWing nodded. "Hello. I examine that you are around the same age as me. I am the age of five— and you?" Dune shuffled his talons. "I'm four, and my name is Dune. What is your name?" "My name is Toxicant. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. After all, you are the kin of the acclaimed soldier Sandstorm, precise?" Dune gave a weak smile. This dragon slightly intimidated him. Some of the words Toxicant spoke were unfamiliar to him. He simply nodded. "Class is started." The dragonets quieted down, and sat in an orderly fashion. "Okay class, my name is Desolate, and I'll be your instructor for soldier training. First, we're going to be learning each other's name. It is important you know your troop through and through. I see we have seven trainees here. We'll start in the front." A dusty SandWing stood. "I'm Solitary." "Nut." "Mirage." Toxicant stood. "Toxicant." Dune blinked before standing. "I'm Dune." Arid stood. "Arid." "Cacti." Desolate nodded. "Good, I expect you all to know each other well, or at least each other's names, by the end of this whole entire class." Dune blinked, as he scanned over his class. Solitary sat a little farther away from every else—perhaps related to his name. Nut looked attentive, but at the same time nervous, as though the other dragonets might rip off his tail. Mirage had a similar look to Arid—ready to fight. The only difference was, Mirage didn't have the wisdom of choosing the correct fights in her eyes. Dune looked at Toxicant. He was sitting in a proper posture, and his gaze was fixed solely on Desolate. He's going to go far. Desolate erased the writing on the board. "Now, time to start the first lesson." Chapter 7 - Burning Dunes (6 months later) Dune slid under the slashing talons of Nut, who was attempting to claw out his eyes in the training class. Six months had passed since Dune had first joined the class with Arid and Cacti, and a lot had changed. He had grown more bulky. Dune had also become friends with Toxicant, despite his odd dialect. "Hurry Nut! Your opponent has the upper talon there!" Desolate yelled as Dune nipped Nut's tail gently. Nut turned suddenly and slammed his talons onto Dune, effectively knocking the younger SandWing to the ground. Desolate nodded, but didn't intervene in the training. Dune fell limp, hoping to catch the smooth creamy-nut coloured SandWing off guard. Nut loosened his grip, thinking Dune was defeated. Then, Dune spun onto his stomach and heaved upward, flinging off Nut. Desolate gave a wiry smile, before holding up his tail in a gesture to stop. He nodded toward Nut. "Remember that your opponent can fall limp like that to fake defeat. You must keep that in mind at all times when battling. All of you." Dune shook the sand off his scales and trotted into the crowd of dragonets, sitting next to Toxicant. The dappled SandWing nodded. "Satisfactory fight, if I do assert that personally." Dune nodded weakly. Sometimes, talking to Toxicant with his way of speaking was energy draining. His mind had to sift through the words the SandWing threw at him to understand what exactly he was saying. "Toxicant and Mirage," Desolate called. Dune watched. This was going to be an interesting fight. Toxicant stood and walked over along with Mirage. Toxicant was the thinker of the troop of dragonets— he could easily get out of a pinch. He was also fast and cunning, thinking ahead of time for what tactics he would use. Other the other talons, Mirage was fierce and strong— most nothing got away from her. She had eagle-sharp eyes, and was prepared to intercept your every movement with one of her own. "Start," Desolate assertively stated. Toxicant stood, waiting for Mirage to make the first move. The bulky dragonet lunged at him, ready to fight. Toxicant sidestepped, avoiding her attack easily. Dune snorted. He made fighting Mirage look so easy. The female SandWing was slightly confused at how the SandWing could dodge her quick attack with a sidestep. The training continued on for the rest of the day. At the end, Dune disbanded with Toxicant— Sandstorm knew that he was going to continue on home by himself after talking to his friend for a while. "That was great fighting," Dune praised Toxicant. "With Mirage and all. She seemed so confused at you dodging her attacks." "Indubitably, it was engaging to see her so perplexed," Toxicant agreed. Dune opened his mouth to say something, when the sound of talons pounding against the ground broke his thoughts. He watched as a SandWing slammed into him. Shaking his head, Dune looked up to see what had knocked him over. Burn. The little SandWing princess. Toxicant lowered himself. "Why, it is the rugged SandWing sovereign Burn. It is sensational to converge with you." Dune nodded and gave an awkward bow. When he stood, he saw Burn was staring defiantly at him. "Hey! I know you! You're Dune, aren't you? We met when I was one!" Dune nodded weakly. "Yes, we did." Burn smiled. "That's so cool! Who would have ever thought we'd meet again! And you're in soldier training now, I heard!" Toxicant stood. "You know her?" he questioned. Dune nodded. Burn snorted. "We've known each other since I was one, and he was three! But we haven't seen each other in a year." Dune gave a half-hearted smile. Whenever he talked to the SandWing princess, he felt his heart beat faster, and it seemed like he fight screw up and fail in front of her. That would be embarrassing. "Well, I have to go. I'm hunting down Blaze for stealing my spear. I don't know why she wants it," Burn growled before walking away from the pair. "Bye," Dune called out. The pair walked down the hall until they reached Room 7. Dune smiled a bit. Soon, he'd be able to live with Sandstorm. Dune looked over his shoulder. "Bye, Toxicant." "Halt," Toxicant said suddenly. Dune looked over, startled. A silence filled the air. "I observed how you behaved back before. You're accomplishing substantial error." Dune's ear flicked. "What it that?" Toxicant stared Dune hard in the eyes. "You're smitten with the sovereign. I can view it in your optics. You fancy her. But you cannot, Dune. She is of a superior status than you. If you become entangled in her pitfall, you won't have the ability to get out. My father fell in, and he received the slaughter." Chapter 8 - Speckle-back (6 months later) Dune's eyes fluttered open. Shivering, he heaved himself out from under his siblings. Craning his neck around, he looked at Arid and Cacti. The two were still serenely sleeping, oblivious to everything in the world. Dune slithered silently over to the window, and pushed the curtain aside. The very first, tiny rays of sunlight were trickling over the desert horizon, announcing that it was morning. Early in the morning. Dune let the curtain fall, and hiked to the door, silently opening it. He peered over his shoulder, and let out a silent sigh of relief at seeing his siblings, and Beavertail, for that matter, at seeing they were asleep. Dune slid out into the hallway, and closed the door. If Sandstorm came down, he would know the SandWing was on one of his early-morning walks. Dune trekked through the halls, not heading in any place in particular. His mind still felt fuzzy, and he needed a good splash of cold water to sharpen his senses. After searching much of the area he knew, Dune began to give up. He couldn't find any place that supplied water anywhere. A shaft of faint light caught Dune in the eyes, and he stumbled back briefly. Turning, he saw the rolling sand dunes, and an idea came to mind. Outside. Dune pried open the window, and exited the hallway. He spread his wings, and with a running leap, was in the air, flying over the desert. The desert was pretty in the morning. Nocturnal animals were scurrying back to whence they came from, and the day animals were coming out, one by one. Dune knew that if Toxicant were here, he'd probably give a lecture on the different animals that came out at this time. Or the nocturnal animals and the daylight animals. Dune rolled his eyes at the thought. As much as he liked Toxicant, the SandWing's newfound interest in giving lectures and/or teaching something could get annoying. Sometimes, he'd give you a quiz on it the next day. This annoyed Dune a little bit more. I need to stop thinking of these things, Dune scolded himself mentally. Who knows how many water supplies I potentially flew over without a second thought? With a quick scan of the area, it wouldn't take a RainWing to figure out that he probably didn't pass over any water resources, based on the barren terrain, give and take the cacti and other desert-adapted plants. When the small light of the sun reflecting off water caught Dune's eye. Descending, he landed in front of it. The little pool wasn't very big, and was evaporating quite quickly every day. Cupping water in his talons, Dune splashed the lukewarm liquid onto his face, and scrubbed, wiping away any cobwebs of tiredness that remained. "Hey, who are you?" a voice questioned. Looking up, Dune saw a female SandWing who was intently staring at him. She was giving him a look as though he was eating all her treasure, baffled, yet mad. Dune tried to come up with some sharp retort, but all that came out was, "Me?" He mentally plopped over onto the ground, knowing he must have sounded idiotic. He was the only SandWing around besides the one questioning him. "No, me," the SandWing said sarcastically. "Who are you?" Swallowing, Dune spoke, "I'm Dune; who are you?" The SandWing swished her tail. "Does it matter?" she questioned, and for the first time, Dune glimpsed her back. It had brown speckles running down it. "Speckle-back?" Dune guessed. The SandWing snorted in outrage. "No, it is ''not Speckle-back''." Dune smiled faintly, not sure what exactly he was getting into. "Just a guess," he whimpered. I'll call her Speckle-back mentally until I know her real name. "A bad, no, horrible guess at that one," Speckle-back snorted. Her tail swished, stirring up the sand. Feeling cramped and awkward, Dune rose up, and took a few steps back, spreading his wings. "I've got to go, maybe we'll see each other some other time, or something like that," Dune said. He winced at the way he kept jabbering his mouth off. Speckle-back narrowed her eyes. "Maybe." Shivering, Dune turned away, and took to the air. He flew back to the palace, and searching for the window, saw in dismay it was closed. "Hey, Dune! What are you doing out here?" a voice yelled. It was Burn's. Dune whipped around. He laughed, trying not to sound like a very small dragonet that had been caught eating an extra sweet. "I can't seem to find the entrance I used as an exit back into the palace." Burn looked at him. Something seemed off with her. It can't be... "Really?" Burn asked, motioning her wing to his right. Feeling a pit form in his stomach, Dune looked to his right, and saw a door. He felt like stuffing his face into the sand. "Thanks, Your Majesty," Dune said, the words feeling foreign on his tongue. Burn frowned. "You don't have to call me 'Your Majesty'. Just call me Burn," "Okay, Burn," Dune said, before bowing, and entering the palace. (This is a WIP. ^^) All Characters *Dune *Webs *Kestrel *Dragonets of Destiny *Queen Scarlet *Arid *Cacti *Sandstorm *Barrel *Oasis *Burn *Blister *Blaze *Toxicant *Desolate *Nut *Solitary *Mirage *Thorn Category:Fanfictions Category:Content (Rainpool123) Category:Fanfictions (Semi-Canon) Category:Fanfictions (Incomplete)